Uruapan is a city and municipality in the west-central part of the Mexican state of Michoacán. The city is the municipal seat of the municipality. The town and surroundings are world famous for the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary nearby,Uruapan is in the crossroads of Michoacan, is the middle city anywhere in Michoacan, in part because of the great quantity of avocado farming and packaging, exported in large parts to the United States, Japan and other countries.[citation needed]